BARGE Fun Walk (and Run)

[Clifford Matthews]

This email is bcc'd to "barge-announce", but I absolutely don't want anyone replying there. So, if you get this and don't subscribe to the BARGE list, that's why. Anyone, including myself, may send follow-ups to this email, but let's keep them on the BARGE list only.

I have four virgin (albeit missing their protective wrappers) BARGE Fun Run bottle openers:

I believe[^1] I'll be at BARGE. If not, I'll get the bottle openers there, somehow. In fact, there may be a hidden tranche of BARGE bottle openers in Las Vegas on the off chance I can't make it. So, the bottle openers are more reliable than I am.

We'll start Friday, July 24th at 7am PDT. People who don't already have one or more BARGE Fun Run bottle openers who participate at that time will have first priority for the remaining bottle openers. Assuming they're not all taken, people who walk or run some distance at BARGE in Las Vegas are next priority and anyone else who claims to have run or walked anywhere, anytime can have the remaining ones although I don't plan on mailing any (e.g., you can visit me in Albuquerque; just don't take a wrong turn).

If you're on Strava, here's the route. If you're not on Strava, I mostly encourage you to join (it's free) and to become a member of the BARGE club, so you can see other BARGErs. One BARGEr objected to Strava's privacy policy and I understand that. I am a privacy advocate, even though I lead a ridiculously public life. So, if you don't want to use Strava, I certainly don't blame you and as such, I've attached a GPX file of the route. Additionally, here's what it looks like:

If you're new to BARGE, thank you for reading this far. This will be the 19th (counting 2008 as the first even though that one had zero attendees) annual BARGE Fun Run (and Walk), albeit rechristened as the BARGE Fun Walk (and Run), because most of you are getting older. Ron and Mickdog organized the 2009 BFR and it started me down a path where I've drawn inspiration from a zillion of my heroes (with Ron and Mickdog high up there, along with Patti, Bingo and ... many others). Eventually, I've even been told I've inspired others, including, ironically, one of my heroes, Gail Leedy [^2].

We will start from the doors near the bathrooms at the Poker Room. I figure everyone knows where the Poker Room is, so that makes a great place to start. We'll start out by taking a right and then walking on the sidewalk that takes us through the parking lot. After that, it's just right turns (i.e. clockwise when viewed from above) while staying on sidewalks until we're back where we started. That'll be a mile. People who choose to do more than one lap will be encouraged to switch direction ("washing machine style") every mile, so that we'll see the other participants as our paths cross.

Come on out. Gooba Gabba! One of Us!

Whee!

--

Cliff Matthews

Founder, Craft Poker Co.

https://craftpoker.com

clifford....@gmail.com

[^1]: my mom is in much worse shape than she was a year ago. She was doing exceedingly well until Christmas day when she took a minor descent. Since then, she's had ups and downs with the downs significantly outweighing the ups. She hit her nadir on April 26th. Since then, she's done better and is currently on an upswing. FWIW, mom's on Strava and is even a member of the BARGE Club, because I had hopes that she'd come out and join us for a loop which is possible, but unlikely. It is also possible--but unlikely--that I'll remain in Albuquerque during BARGE to tend to her.

[^2]: When Mark Vega posted Gail's interview, I listened to it and at the beginning was psyched to recommend it to many young people (i.e., my age or younger) because when I grow up, I want to be Gail, sort of. Unfortunately, Gail then mentioned me flatteringly and I thought "darn, I can't recommend this otherwise it looks like I'm just puffing myself up", but she encouraged me to do so anyway; after all, she can't recommend the video. Point taken. FWIW, I actually had forgotten that I got Gail into search and rescue.